Post navigation

The Scrooge of New Year’s Eve

For January 1st, I’ve never quit smoking, gone on a diet, bought a gym membership, or sworn to save money.

I live in my head; I think about stuff all the time. Why do I need a day to tell me to think about more stuff? And all at once?

I try to learn new things, better myself, and change what’s not working. When this holiday rolls around, I don’t sit and reflect—I barely give a thought to the past year except to say, “Huh. That sucked. Hope next year is better.”

And it isn’t.

It delivers a whole host of new and different problems. So that’s exciting.

But that’s life, isn’t it?

The thing is, like I said last year, I feel pressured to look back over my year and write something meaningful but I simply don’t want to.

What I’d like to do is drink some wine (or Baileys or beer—I’m not picky), watch It’s a Wonderful Life (I know, the irony is delicious), and eat sushi.

So here’s to sitting in front of a movie, drinking, eating, and writing ‘2015’ on all my documents for a few months.

Happy New Year, gentle readers. 🎉

My Sunday thoughts in 200 words or less.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you stick to them? (Let’s be honest…are they even realistic?)

Valid choice. I like it. I guess you caught me because I sort of do that, too. But I change and rearrange my goals throughout the year so I never refer to them as resolutions. (It’s a bad time of year to be making lifestyle changes. Just saying.) Happy New Year! 🎉

I am not a resolutions girl, either. I opt to pick a word of the year. It helps me stay more focused on a single goal during the year. However, as you pointed out, you don’t need the flip of a a calendar to make a change. You can and should do it anytime.

I love that. I chose a word last year but never followed through with it. Maybe this year I should tape it to my computer so I see it every day. Yes, I think it’s the calendar-flipping that gets me. Because I alter my life throughout the year and you really could call them “resolutions”. Perhaps I’m being a January snob.

Cheers to Baileys, movies, sushi (okay, clam chowder soup here) and no resolutions! I do like to assess, plan, re-group, whatever — basically re-organize my desk and all those thoughts in my head. Talk to you next year! 😉

First of all, I love 💕 your graphic! Very clever and effective.
Like you I am constantly assessing, reassessing and doing, doing, doing. I have no time nor need for resolutions. Reflection is my middle name. Yeah, and I took some downtime today and sat on the couch (I’d forgotten how comfy that can be) and watched a movie. No alcohol today but champers with friends last night to see in the new year.
As I prepared some documents for my website today I had great delight in adding (c) 2016 to them! Bring it on! 2015 is gone!
You go girl! I’m looking forward to following your discoveries this year! 👏💕🍹

Thanks! That’s funny because I didn’t have a photo I liked for this post so I grabbed Scrabble and spelled this out on a red stocking. Ah, the irony.

“reflection is my middle name” 🙂 Yes. Exactly. I don’t need the pressure of December to bear down on me telling me I must think about more! Right now! Quickly before it’s too late! For…? What? I’ll do it in February or April or June. Who cares? Thank you, Norah. I’m looking forward to my discoveries, too! What’s going to happen??? Happy New Year. ❤️

Preach it, sistah! I never make New Year’s Resolutions either. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is the perfect film for Bailey’s and sushi, if you ask me. I watched it again for the zillionth time the other night and got a little weepy at the end, like I always do.

For what it’s worth, I think you write meaningful posts all the time, including this one.

You’ve an old head on young shoulders. This year I made no resolutions cause finally I have admitted that I won’t do them anyway so why bother. In fact this year Christmas and New Year both were lovely because we did nothing. None of the hype. In bed before 11. Hope the movie and the Baileys were good. Hope you move forward to where you want to be in 2016. You can make change but change is a risk. Without taking risks though you really aren’t living. Reflect well, take the risk and discover.

😀 I love the way you worded that! “You’ve an old head on young shoulders.” I usually say, “You’re an old soul.” If that’s what you mean, thank you. I’ve been told that before. I have a lot of people agreeing with my resolution-free New Year. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do. (And, yes, the Baileys and movie combo was wonderful.)

I can’t tell you how much it means that you’ve written about changing and taking risks… I appreciate that so much as I’m in the middle of a storm and decisions are difficult and risky but must be made if I am to live. Cheers, Irene. ❤

That is what I meant and as I’m not alone in thinking this it must be true. Yes some people never take the risk of change because what they know is safe. More of my thoughts on risk can be found here: Risk-Taking

Spooky! My first draft’s working title of today’s post was “bah humbug”. As you know and obviously could guess.. I’m totally with you on this one!
Wishing you a hap hazard but happening and joyful 2016! xx

No. Way. That is hilarious. We often cross topics on our posts and it IS spooky (and kinda cool) but you using the same title as my pic? That’s wild. 😀 I knew you’d be with me. Drinking and hanging on the couch watching a movie. *pass the popcorn*

I do like reviewing the year, but only in relation to “business goals” as someone said above. Like you, I’m constantly reflecting and I’ve reached an age where (on a good day) I’ve genuinely no ambitions to be a better person. In fact, if I had one, my New Year’s resolution would be to be even more grumpy..

Haha..Anne, yours is the best yet, I’ll drink to that with you and Sarah! I think too much, all the time, reflection is what I live and I wish I could change that but I can’t. A psychologist told me that I spend too much time ‘ruminating’ which is why I suffer from anxiety. Heck, I’m just glad to be here for another year. Sarah, I love your blog pic, brilliant 🙂

I write New Year’s posts and birthday posts more so for me to capture what the hell I went through… that said, I still haven’t been able to write my 35th bday post. But it’ll happen. As for resolutions, I’ve been a lot better and keeping at them the last couple of years when I’ve shifted to things I really want. Have I always met the goals? A better Q would be have I ever met the entirety of the goals. But they have helped me to make some habits that have endured.

Fair enough. We need to capture stuff. Even hellish stuff. That’s an interesting thought…entirety of goals. I think most people view resolutions as black and white — they did it or they didn’t. Nice to have a grey area. (I await your 35th birthday story…)

plenty of grey in life. 😀 and I’m all for capturing stuff, hence the title of the last collection. It wasn’t arbitrary. I put some hellish goals but stopped doing the long lists because it was hard to keep out. Anywho… stay tuned for the 35th 😀